Transfiguration

 "Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them; his face shone like the sun. Mt 17:1

Conversion is a slow process. We need many reminders that we are God's people and that God is always with us. Like almost anything else we learn in life, we "get faith" for a while and then lose it. Because daily life often confuses and challenges us with questions about suffering, death, poverty and hunger, we forget who we are, and seasons like Lent are necessary to help us return to the "straight and narrow" path of Jesus.

Today the transfiguration of Jesus is like a Lent for the apostles. Jesus has been slowly letting the apostles know who he is, and today he makes it absolutely clear that he is the fulfillment of the prophets. One might say that it is the "baptism" of the apostles. Because the apostles now know that Jesus is God's son, even if they cannot yet put their minds completely around the revelation, they have new responsibilities. God is readying them for their mission, and while their obligation to announce Good News will be delayed, they will soon be God's messengers and message.

Our own faith life and Lenten journey are similar. We have moments of pristine clarity and insight, and then the fog returns and we can hardly see where we are going. Not being afraid of this process is the key to completing our pilgrimage. Conversion lasts our entire life and while we might lose our way, God never loses sight of us.

Today, try to remember a moment of transfiguration, when you knew exactly who you were.

What has been your experience of conversion into Christ?

Covenants

 "Today the LORD is making this agreement with you." Dt 26:17

Covenants are sacred agreements, usually between two nations or tribes. It was common in the ancient world for warring people to end hostility with a covenant. Representatives from each group or tribe would split animals in half and walk between them, clearly signifying that as long as each group kept the covenant, peace would reign. The dead animals, however, were a powerful sign. If either party to the covenant broke the agreement, war and killing would begin again.

Today, Exodus reminds us that God made a covenant with his people, assuring them that if they kept the covenant, they would live in peace with God and God would protect them. It is a remarkable time for the Israelites. God is promising always to be faithful to them. Their only obligation would be to keep the commandments, and while God would often have to correct and challenge them to keep their promises, they had only to remember the covenant and turn to God to be healed.

When Christians call Jesus the new covenant, they assert that God's faithfulness has been extended to us beyond anything we could imagine. Jesus is God incarnate and his resurrection promises us life forever. As long as we live the Good News of Jesus in a transparent way God will forever walk by our side and hold us in the palm of his hand.

Today, be transparent in your gospel life. Love one another.

How do you manage broken covenants in your life and family?

Forgiving and Letting Go of Hurt

  "But I say to you, whoever is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment." Mt 5:22

Forgiveness of those who do us harm is essential to the Gospel. Jesus asks his Father to forgive those who are crucifying him, and reminds his disciples to put aside everything, even their pilgrimage to the Temple, to reconcile with those from whom they are separated.

But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire. So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. (Mt 5: 22-24)

Do we have the courage to accept Jesus' challenge in our daily lives? In recent months, especially as we approached the last election, families were so deeply divided by their different political convictions that many either are not talking with one another or have agreed not to speak about politics at all. In the long run, this cannot be good. Reconciliation is an essential element of the Gospel message and we need to find ways to live authentically with those with whom we disagree. Otherwise, the power of the Gospel to heal will be undermined.

Today, forgive someone who has not asked it of you.

Are you holding a past hurt against a family member or friend?

Living with Darkness

 "Queen Esther, seized with mortal anguish, had recourse to the LORD...Help me, who am alone and have no help but you, for I am taking my life in my hand." Est 12:14

Darkness of spirit can be immobilizing. Inundated with problems or memories that emerge every time we open our eyes, there is no place to go. Friends with cancer often spoke of their illness in this manner. Each day they would wake, hoping for a shift in how they felt physically and emotionally, but there was only nausea and darkness. 

Remarkably, the call of Lent is to allow God to take us into this kind of darkness so that we might be cleansed and able to see again, even in a darkness "one can feel." Though our faith tells us that God is in the darkness with us, and Jesus in the desert experienced this, it is awful, frightening and disturbing. Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta told her spiritual director that this kind of darkness followed her for years. While those who knew her could never have suspected this terrible kind of trial, it was real and suffocating, and led her to the edge of unbelief.

When periods of darkness like this come upon us, we must stay still. As the poet, Jessica Powers wrote, "God sits on a chair of darkness in my soul...I sit at His feet, a child in the dark beside Him." God does not make the darkness go away, but sits with us in it. Is that enough?

Today, try not to hide. Give yourself to God as you are.

How do you live with the darkness that comes to you?